It's finally here...Ethereum Merge Day. Bennett Tomlin of Crypto Critics Corner and Protos.com joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to break down exactly what the Ethereum Merge is, why the crypto world is celebrating its arrival, the difference between the old proof-of-work system and the new proof-of-stake system, how miners are taking the change, the fork, what is staking, sharding?!, the environmental impacts, how crypto advocates are missing the big picture, Lido and its role, and why the sy...
Sep 15, 2022•1 hr 13 min
Journalist Jacob Silverman joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to discuss one of the biggest mysteries surrounding the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange...who is Guangying Chen? Silverman breaks down Binance's huge role in the crypto space and its founder Changpeng Zhao aka "CZ," the history of the company's opaqueness on many issues surrounding the business, the leaked "Tai Chi" document, the relevance of whether Binance is a "Chinese company," and the mystery surrounding Guangying Chen, ...
Sep 09, 2022•49 min
Web3 Is Going Just Great creator Molly White returns to Scam Economy to break down crypto winter aka crypto's summer from hell with host Matt Binder. Matt and Molly discuss some of the crypto and Web3 failures, controversies, and scandals from July & August like Tornado Cash winding up sanctions, Michael Saylor being sued by the DC AG for tax fraud, Martin Shkreli's odd pharma Web3 project hack, Binance's claim it doesn't own a troubled Indian crypto exchange after claiming it acquired the c...
Sep 02, 2022•1 hr 10 min
Another BONUS teaser of the Scam Economy Livestream Call-In Post Show! Jon from Australia calls BACK into the Scam Economy Livestream Post Show in early August to talk to host Matt Binder about crypto in the video game space, TikTok creator NFTs, and the Australian based Web3 company, Immutable, which is involved in Gamestop's NFT marketplace.
Aug 26, 2022•33 min
Coinbase is America's #1 crypto exchange. Coinbase has also had a very, very bad couple of weeks. Ed Zitron joins Matt Binder on Scam Economy to discuss the Coinbase insider trading case, how a former Coinbase product manager was able to slip insider knowledge to his brother and a friend, how the scheme fell apart, just how much insider trading is going on over at Coinbase?, the SEC investigation that found Coinbase was listing unregistered securities, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong's anti-politic...
Aug 18, 2022•1 hr 20 min
A BONUS teaser of the Scam Economy Livestream Call-In Post Show! Listener of the show, Jon from Australia, called into the Scam Economy Livestream Post Show back in June to talk to host Matt Binder, right after an episode on Celsius and the crypto crash, to discuss a listener who had called into the post show back in February who talked about staking his crypto in Celsius. First, listen to the call between Matt and Jon, then listen to the call from back in February. It's a good reminder that tho...
Aug 12, 2022•57 min
Adi Robertson, senior reporter at The Verge, joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to bring us on the epic journey that is Spice DAO, the decentralized autonomous organization that raised around $12 million in cryptocurrency in order to bid on a rare copy of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s "legendary never-made adaptation" of the classic sci-fi novel, Dune (also known as the Dune Bible). We discuss the $3 million winning bid and how it was well over expected sale price, the infamous confusion over copyrigh...
Aug 05, 2022•1 hr 6 min
Angel investor Liron Shapira joins Scam Economy host Matt Binder to discuss his viral Twitter thread about the decentralized wireless network Helium, often viewed as the gold standard of Web3 uses cases. We discuss what Helium is and how does it work, how budding entrepreneurs buy expensive hotspots in hopes of earning Helium's cryptocurrency token, who is actually using Helium's wireless network, and much more. Plus: BONUS! As a result of Matt's research into this episode, there is an added com...
Jul 30, 2022•1 hr 8 min
Quinn Myers, author of the upcoming book Remember the Internet Vol. 3: Google Glass, joins Scam Economy to discuss his piece for MEL Magazine about the workers who decided to take their paychecks in crypto. Quinn and host Matt Binder discuss the different types of people who took part in this program, how Coinbase made it extremely easy for people to convert their hard-earned pay from this jobs into cryptocurrency automatically, just how much these people have lost since the crypto crash, the pr...
Jul 23, 2022•58 min
Just like crypto, Elon Musk is all hype. So, they're a match made in heaven. Scam Economy host Matt Binder takes a look at Elon Musk's history of promoting cryptocurrency like Bitcoin and, his favorite, Dogecoin, whether or not he's telling the truth when he claimed he "never told people to invest in cryptocurrency," how Elon's love for crypto helped create the current crypto bot problem...and how Elon's tweets about the crypto bot problem will likely come back to bite him when fighting Twitter'...
Jul 15, 2022•48 min
Yet another crypto lender, Voyager Digital, has frozen its customers' funds, pausing withdrawals, and just filed for bankruptcy. But this time, it's even more looney than usual. Ed Zitron joins Matt Binder on the show to discuss how Voyager claimed it was an FDIC insured bank an...SURPRISE! Voyager was not a bank and it was not FDIC insured, how the company gave out huge loans to relatively few entities, the people who lost money, Mark Cuban's Dallas Mavericks having a partnership deal with Voya...
Jul 08, 2022•1 hr
Logically.ai UK editor Ernie Piper and Senior OSINT Analyst Nick Backovic join Matt Binder on Scam Economy to discuss the tech-based anti-misinformation firm's report on the QAnon influencers scamming their followers with crypto pump-and-dump schemes. We discuss the QAnon conspiracy theory and how its conspiratorial right wing beliefs fit perfectly into the cryptocurrency scams, the Stellar network which makes minting of these tokens extremely easy, who are WhipLash347 and PatriotQakes (aka Emil...
Jul 01, 2022•59 min
Mike Burgersburg of Dirty Bubble Media joins Matt Binder on Scam Economy to breakdown his reporting on the crypto lender Celsius, how they contributed to the crypto crash, why they've frozen all of their customers accounts, its founder Alex Mashinsky and his interesting past, is Celsius a ponzi?, what is CEL token, how his @MikeBurgersburg account was hacked just as he was reporting on Celsius and another troubled cryptocurrency lender called Voyager, and much more!Check out Mike's new Twitter a...
Jun 24, 2022•1 hr 5 min
Crypto critics David Gerard & Amy Castor join Matt Binder on Scam Economy to talk about the "Jenga stack of interconnected time bombs" that is this week's cryptocurrency crash. David and Amy breakdown how the entire crypto space is like a Jenga tower and all it takes is for one rug pull to knock down the stack, how Terra/Luna set the stage for the plunge, what Celsius is and why it was the next piece to take down what was left, what the role crypto exchanges like Coinbase play, why crypto he...
Jun 17, 2022•1 hr 10 min
Leo Schwartz, reporter at Rest of World, joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to discuss his recent piece interviewing people from around the world who had invested in the stablecoin Terra and lost everything they had in the crash. We also discuss the predatory nature of crypto and DeFi, why people in countries like Argentina, Iran, and Nigeria invest in crypto, how the industry preys on the most economically vulnerable, and more! Check out Leo's pieces that we discuss on the show: 1) https://res...
Jun 10, 2022•1 hr 13 min
Michael Edison Hayden of the Southern Poverty Law Center joined Matt Binder for a LIVE episode of Scam Economy as part of the Digital Void Festival: Brooklyn on May 26 at Littlefield's. Matt takes a look at the two biggest crypto communities: the "artists"/hucksters of Ethereum (Gary Vee, Jimmy Fallon) and the cryptonazis of Bitcoin, how the real split in cryptocurrency is the 99.99% vs. the 0.01%, and Michael Hayden breaks down his recent reporting on the millions of dollars in crypto being sen...
Jun 03, 2022•41 min
Longtime Wikipedia editor and Web3 is Going Great creator Molly White joins Matt Binder on Scam Economy to discuss why Wikipedia stopped taking cryptocurrency donations, how the Wiki community came together to make it happen, what happened when crypto advocates tried to stop the decision, the history of Wiki and cryptocurrency, and much more! Check out Web3 Is Going Great @ https://web3isgoinggreat.com. Visit ScamEconomy.com. Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder
May 20, 2022•56 min
EMERGENCY POD! The crypto market is in a free fall. What is happening?! Bennett Tomlin of Crypto Critics' Corner joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to break down what stablecoin Terra (UST) is, why it lost its peg and what that means, how its sister coin Luna factors in to all this, and how this all led to one of the biggest crashes across the entire cryptocurrency market – one that has Bitcoin at its lowest value in nearly a year and a half. Bennett and Matt also discuss the coins' parent comp...
May 12, 2022•55 min
Creator of Web3 is Going Great, developer Molly White joins Scam Economy with Matt Binder to discuss the insanely high Ethereum gas fees from over the weekend where people were being charged thousands in fees for transactions as low as $5, how this was caused by Bored Ape Yacht Club owners Yuga Labs, and shows everything wrong with the Ethereum network (and crypto more broadly.) Also, after the SCOTUS leak showing Roe v. Wade may very well be overturned and abortions could become illegal in cert...
May 06, 2022•56 min
Salvadorian developer Mario Gomez joins Matt Binder on Scam Economy to discuss his arrest over his activism against El Salvador's Bitcoin laws, why El Salvador is going all in on Bitcoin and making it an official currency, how it all started with an American project in the the Central American country called Bitcoin Beach, what shady dealings El Salvador's authoritarian president Nayib Bukele could possibly have with the crypto industry, what are Volcano Bonds and the Chivo wallet, how the Bitco...
Apr 29, 2022•1 hr 12 min
Looking for love? Have you been targeted by a crypto scam on a dating app? Scam Economy listeners recently called into the live post-show to share their experiences with host Matt Binder. There's plenty of twists, turns, and swerves! Here are some of those stories. Visit: http://www.ScamEconomy.com ! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder
Apr 22, 2022•1 hr 7 min
Ryan Broderick of the Garbage Day newsletter joins Scam Economy to take host Matt Binder on a journey to the Bitcoin 2022 Conference in Miami. Ryan breaks down what he saw at the 4-day Bitcoin extravaganza, which celebrities and special guests were there, the dystopian vision of the future that the Bitcoin maximalists are pushing, what the "average" Bitcoin advocate got out of the event, the difference between crypto "culture" and the Bitcoin world, what his cryptocurrency investing dad thought ...
Apr 15, 2022•1 hr 9 min
Climate and environmentalist journalist Leanna First-Arai joins Scam Economy to discuss the news that Exxon was going to help Bitcoin mining companies "go green" by selling them gas leaks. Leanna breaks down what gas flaring is, what the thought process and claims from Exxon and the Bitcoin community here is, how "good" is this, the waste that goes into Bitcoin mining, can renewables help?, and more! Visit ScamEconomy.com! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder
Apr 08, 2022•51 min
It's a BONUS teaser clip from the Scam Economy Hotline LIVE Post Show #9! In this clip, listener John from Australia calls in to tell us even more about play-to-earn NFT crypto game, Axie Infinity, and how dystopian it is for the players in developing nations who play it for a living. Check out ScamEconomy.com for more! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder
Apr 05, 2022•24 min
Play To Earn crypto games are hyped as one of the defining products of web3, according to cryptocurrency and blockchain advocates. But, they are extremely exploitative. Now, after a big hack wreaks havoc over the biggest game in the space, Axie Infinity, resulting in a $625 million loss...what does this say about the dystopian future that crypto wants? Ed Zitron joins Matt Binder on Scam Economy to discuss. Visit ScamEconomy.com . Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder
Mar 31, 2022•1 hr 33 min
NFT and cryptocurrency reporter Amy Castor joins Scam Economy for a deep dive into Yuga Labs, the company behind Bored Ape Yacht Club, and a new cryptocurrency called ApeCoin, which is totally not connected to Yuga Labs of course (for legal reason). Visit: ScamEconomy.com ! Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder
Mar 25, 2022•1 hr 9 min
Scam Economy host Matt Binder breaks down how grifting cryptocurrency founders, entrepreneurs, investors, and hustlers are trying to pump their money making schemes for a profit and generate good PR for the crypto industry under the guise of charity for Ukraine. Check out: http://www.scameconomy.com . Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder
Mar 18, 2022•51 min
A freebie teaser clip from the Scam Economy Post Show Episode #6 livestream on 3/10/22: Matt gives some quick thoughts on Web3 "Pay to Earn" games after his talk with Molly White. Plus a breakdown of a Twisted Sister "parody" song about Web3 by Randi Zuckerberg – yes, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's sister. Join the Patreon to access audio of the full show, complete with listener phone calls and more: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder
Mar 15, 2022•20 min
Molly White, software engineer, Wikipedia editor, and the creator of the website "Web3 is going just great," joins host Matt Binder on Scam Economy to discuss...well...Web3! Molly breaks down what Web3 is, all the scams and grifts her website covers daily, what Web3 advocates want, how Wikipedia perfectly proves Web3 wrong, the commonalities found between conspiracy theorists like QAnon believers and Web3 supporters, and much more! Check out Molly's awesome website Web3 is going great: https://w...
Mar 11, 2022•1 hr 4 min
Writer Wilfred Chan joins Matt Binder on Scam Economy to discuss his experience using an NFT vending machine, how he got scammed by it, online real estate in the metaverse, and how the gig economy gave us an early look into our scam economy tech dystopia. Find out where you can subscribe to the Scam Economy: http://www.scameconomy.com . Support the show: http://www.patreon.com/mattbinder
Mar 04, 2022•45 min
